Honda test rider Tetsuta Nagashima has completed this opening round of the 2025 Superbike World Championship at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia as a one-event entry. Competing with the Honda HRC test team, Nagashima lined up for Sunday’s Superpole Race and second Superbike race.

After setting his fastest time of the weekend in morning warm-up (1’30.113), the test rider lined up in nineteenth place on the grid for the Superpole race. Nagashima got away well when the lights went out but almost immediately crashed through Turn 4. Though able to immediately rejoin the race, the Japanese rider found himself in last place. He did his best to continue but ultimately had to pit on lap eight.

In Race 2, which, like Race 1, involved a mandatory pitstop and tyre change mid-way through, Tetsuta was able to make another smooth start. Having to complete a long lap as a penalty for his involvement in an incident that occurred during the Superpole Race, Nagashima found himself at the back of the field, with work to do. Twentieth at the time of the tyre change, the test rider was able to make up two positions in the latter stages to secure an eighteenth-place finish in this final race.

Nagashima and the Honda HRC Test Team are pleased with the work completed and data collected over the course of this opening championship weekend, information that will be extremely useful in terms of moving forward with the development of the CBR1000RR-R.

Tetsuta Nagashima SPRC DNF – Race 2 P18

“Today was quite difficult for us. During the morning warm-up, I honestly had good feeling on the bike; it felt as it should. Unfortunately, I crashed out in the Superpole race—it was my mistake, and I need to apologize to Gerloff. Then, at the beginning of Race 2, I felt the same discomfort as yesterday, no confidence, and I couldn’t push. After changing tyres, I felt much better, which means we need to look deeper into the data. That said, the whole weekend was a good experience for me and the test team. We have work to do, I have work to do, but we continue on our path to make continuous improvement.”

Full Superpole Race Results Courtesy of DWO

Full Race 2 Results Courtesy of DWO

Honda test rider Tetsuta Nagashima and the Honda HRC Test Team are at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia this weekend, participating as a one-event entry in the inaugural round of the 2025 Superbike World Championship season.

On Saturday morning, a third practice session afforded the Japanese rider a final opportunity to prepare his CBR1000RR-R bike ahead of Superpole. Setting his fastest time of the weekend so far (1’30.825), Nagashima placed twentieth overall in the combined practice standings.

Back on track for the Superpole, which ran in hotter conditions with respect to the practice sessions (air 33°C, track 40°C), Tetsuta put in a best time of 1’30.989 to qualify nineteenth for the subsequent Superbike race.

Gaining ground in the early stages of Race 1, the test rider lapped consistently and wisely to climb up inside the points zone by lap five. Nagashima was lying fourteenth when he came into the pits on lap eleven to switch his tyres. Finding himself in the same position on his return to the track, the Japanese rider did well to fend off his closest competition and hold fourteenth to the line, scoring two championship points in the process.

Tetsuta Nagashima P14

“It was a tough race due to the hot conditions. The bike was okay, I just needed to adapt to it, and it was a little difficult, but each time I am able to better understand where we need to improve for the future. The goal was to race without mistakes and collect data for the future. It was a productive day because I was able to understand many things that are impossible to grasp when I’m riding alone during testing. Tomorrow, we will try to make a few changes and see if I can improve both my feeling and the bike’s setup.”

Full Race 1 Results Courtesy of DWO

Having participated in the final pre-season tests at Phillip Island just a few days ago, official Honda test rider Tetsuta Nagashima is competing in this weekend’s opening round of the 2025 Superbike World Championship at the same circuit with the Honda HRC Test Team.

On track this morning for the weekend’s first practice session, Nagashima put in steady work throughout the 40-minute session. The Japanese rider completed 20 laps in total, continuing to gather information on the CBR1000RR-R setup while setting some interesting lap times. A best of 1’31.017 saw him place nineteenth. In FP2, he recorded a very similar time to his FP1 reference (1’31.042), which meant that the rider rounded out this first day of action in nineteenth place overall.

Saturday will see the team back on track for a final free practice, followed by the Superpole qualifying session and the first of the weekend’s Superbike races, which will run over a distance of 20 laps.

Tetsuta Nagashima

“Today, we tested quite a few setup changes. I tried something of both Xavi’s and Iker’s bike setups, and it was very interesting because there were some differences that provided us with useful information for future tests. Of course, the bike felt different since it wasn’t set up for me, but as I said, it was a valuable and important exercise for the future.”

Full Free Practice Results Courtesy of DWO

This City Trial Japan competition is where only the top 10 overall from the previous results, including the sixth round at SUGO, are allowed to participate. This marks the final battle of 2024 for the pinnacle class of Japanese trial, the International A-Class Super. The venue, located against the in front of Osaka City Hall, is the quintessential location for a city trial. This final race differs significantly from the previous All-Japan series, generating attention for the potential of something extraordinary to occur.

The event consisted of four sections, which would be tackled in both directions for a total of eight sections. The top six would then advance to the final, tackling two sections back and forth.

Takahisa Fujinami (Honda RTL ELECTRIC) had climbed to eighth overall with two consecutive wins prior to this weekend, would attempt the difficult sections. The first section (eighth on the way back) and the fourth section (fifth on the way back) involved large logs, the second (seventh on the way back) used concrete blocks, and the third (sixth on the way back) featured wooden materials. The day before, heavy rain had left the logs slippery when the riders arrived, but on the day of the competition, clear weather had allowed the surfaces to regain grip.

As the third to attempt, Fujinami, unable to hide his nerves, put a foot down once in the third section, passing the initial four sections with a score of one point.

In the return trip, Fujinami showed his strength. Although he had one foot down in the seventh section, he had a total score of two points as he awaited the attempts of his rivals. The six finalists were Fujinami, Tomoyuki Ogawa, Ujikawa, Kuroyama, Yoshito Takeda, and Tsuyoshi Ogawa.

Veteran riders’ determination was palpable here. Takeda incurred five points consecutively in the first and second sections, dropping to sixth place. Tsuyoshi Ogawa also fell out of the top contention after incurring one point and three points. Ujikawa fell from contention as well, with one point and five points in sections seven and eight.

At this point, it seemed likely that the podium would be filled by Fujinami, Tomoyuki, and Kuroyama. However, they too faced the risk of falling to lower positions with any significant mistakes. Kuroyama was the first to try and tackled each section cleanly, finishing all four sections without penalties, applying pressure on Fujinami and Tomoyuki.

Fujinami’s final attempt began. Having cleaned all four sections alongside Kuroyama and Tomoyuki, there was no reason he couldn’t do the same. However, the possibility of a small mistake leading to five penalty points loomed large. Fujinami’s attempts maintained their power until the end, and this was destined to be his last try in front of his fans in Japan. His passionate resolve carried him through, and he finished the four final sections cleanly.

Fujinami Takahisa prevailed to win all three competitions he entered in his debut season with the RTL ELECTRIC after 21 years in the All-Japan Championship.

Takahisa Fujinami, Team HRC #27

“During my time competing in the World Championship before retirement, and now supporting Toni Bou and Gabriel Marcelli as a manager, each role carries its own challenges. However, the pressure to win these three races was unprecedented. Although this was the third race, it was tough in its own right. When I incurred a point early on, I thought I might not win today. Although I managed to create a five-point lead by the final, five points can easily be overturned by a single five-point mistake, so I couldn’t relax and continued to try until the end. I’m truly glad I was able to win all three and repay Honda’s expectations and the development team’s efforts. I believe this result wouldn’t have been possible without this staff. It was also a great blessing to compete in front of Japanese fans one last time. Thank you!”

Results:

After assessing the sections, the competition was expected to be a nerve-wracking battle with minimal deductions. The course allowed for the possibility of a flawless performance without a single foot down, meaning even one small slip could cost the victory.

Right from the start, Fujinami lost a point in the 3rd section, a painful deduction in this intense contest. Although this initial mistake unsettled him, he quickly found his rhythm as his rivals accrued points. By the end of the first lap, Fujinami stood at three points, with Kenichi Kuroyama trailing at seven points, and Tomoyuki Ogawa at 10 points. These three riders, along with Seiya Ujigawa, were closely contending for the top overall rankings.

In the second lap, Fujinami reduced his deductions to just 2 points. As one of the first to finish, he awaited his rivals’ outcomes. Kuroyama, who initially ranked 2nd, dropped to 3rd after consecutive 5-point penalties. Ogawa moved up to 2nd, completing his second lap with a total of 15 points.

The remaining challenge was the concrete block sections (SS), structured to be ridden round-trip. Fujinami, aiming to clear both SS sections, held a solid 10-point lead over Ogawa. His primary goal, however, was to complete the SS sections cleanly, regardless of the victory. As riders took on SS1 and SS2, their scores fluctuated. Following scores of 5, 3, and other minor deductions by top competitors, Fujinami executed a clean run, a feat no other rider achieved that day.

Takahisa Fujinami, Team HRC #27

“I aimed for an all-clean run but knew it wouldn’t be easy. In section 3, I took an unplanned step after hitting a rock, which was a big misstep, especially since a single point could decide the outcome. After that, I regained my focus and was able to find my rhythm. Winning two consecutive events was great, especially after having quality time with the RTL ELECTRIC these past two weeks. I’ll give my all at City Trial Japan.”

Results:

Competing as a wildcard in this final round of the 2024 Superbike World Championship season at the Jerez Circuit in Spain, Tetsuta Nagashima has enjoyed a very productive and informative race weekend, which concluded today with the Superpole race and the last of the season’s full length Superbike races.

The day began with a short warm-up, in which Tetsuta made final preparations for the day’s races, based also on the data collected yesterday. Lining up in twentieth position for the ten-lap Superpole race, which ran in dry conditions, the Japanese rider soon moved up into eighteenth place. Running at the front of a group of four riders, he ran a consistent race but was unable to close the gap to the big group of riders ahead. Holding eighteenth until the penultimate lap, Tetsuta ultimately dropped one position but worked hard all the way to the line, the last lap of the race proving to be his fastest.

Race 2 ran in warm, sunny conditions, with Nagashima again starting from twentieth on the grid. Making up one position early on, Tetsuta held nineteenth through the first half of the race. Putting together a consistent race, the Japanese rider made a little more progress in the latter stages of this 20-lapper despite a drop in tyre performance, climbing to seventeenth across the line. He was promoted to sixteenth after the race concluded when a rider ahead of him was disqualified.

Superpole Full Results Courtesy of DWO

Race2 Full Results Courtesy of DWO

Nagashima took full advantage of the morning’s third and final practice, soon improving on Friday’s performance in terms of outright lap times. Working hard with the HRC test team engineers, the Japanese rider continued to make progress throughout the phase, closing with a time of 1’41.117 to position twenty-first.

A little later the rider was back on track for the Superpole qualifying session when he was able to set an encouraging 1’39.792 already during his first exit. After pitting mid-session to switch out his tyres, Tetsuta returned to the track but was unable to improve further. His earlier time therefore remained his best reference, which meant that the rider qualified in twentieth position for the afternoon’s 20-lap race.

Quick off the line when Race 1 got underway at 2pm, Nagashima made up two places already on lap 1. Lying seventeenth in the early stages, the Japanese rider was able to get into a good rhythm and progress to sixteenth midway through the race. Working hard to catch and pass Rabat, Tetsuta successfully reached the points zone on lap fifteen and did well to hold this position to the line, scoring one point as a result of his P15 finish.

Superpole full results Courtesy of DWO

Race1 full results Courtesy of DWO